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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. fine — all right
  3. clip — to cut
  4. press — a publisher
  5. root — of a plant
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — an illness
  8. saw — the tool
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. fine — high quality
  11. clip — for paper
  12. wind — moving air
  13. saw — the tool
  14. wind — moving air
  15. cold — not warm
  16. root — the cause
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. press — to push
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. root — of a word
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. clip — a video

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com